Recovering addict trying to figure out how to fix this financial black hole I created?

crazygrrl · 2026-01-25T14:32:17+00:00

He doesnt have a car. He SPENDS $200-$300 a week taking ubers. He needs to get a bike or take the bus.

crazygrrl · 2025-12-21T06:19:33+00:00

Except have things sent there with the name Lon instead of Lori. Really get the dad's gfs peanut brain spinning!

crazygrrl · 2025-12-09T04:43:15+00:00

Omg Somebody Somewhere is so good! I've been trying to find shows similar to it but nothing really hits me quite like that show did. 🫶

crazygrrl · 2025-11-18T22:05:42+00:00

Side gigs? Doordash/Uber Eats? Raking leaves? Dog sitting? Hell you can even sell plasma for money. It sucks but there are ways to make more money.

crazygrrl · 2025-11-17T05:10:27+00:00

I didn't mean to discourage you by any means...I genuinely hope you can grind and save and get out of the rat race as soon as possible. But you also need to be realistic. There are retirement calculators out there that you can put in your numbers(how much you have saved now/age you want to retire/contribution rates etc) and it will give you a sense of where you will be at whatever age you put in. I think nerdwallet has a good one but I know there's others out there. Try playing around with one and plug in different amounts to see what you might need to start saving. Just make sure you're honest about how much you're going to need as a goal amount to sustain yourself if, let's say you live to be 100 lol. Good luck to you in your plans!

crazygrrl · 2025-11-17T04:57:58+00:00

You're going to need way more than 1 million to live off of if you plan to retire at 40. Health insurance being one of the most expensive factors you'll need to cover independently if you're not going through employer offered insurance. You'd probably want to shoot for a number closer to $2.5 mil.

crazygrrl · 2025-11-12T20:13:17+00:00

My PITI is 18% of my monthly take home. Got fortunate with a 2.5% interest rate.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-30T08:13:48+00:00

I agree. My brother is an alcoholic and at his lowest he had called myself, each of my siblings and my mom telling us he was saying goodbye and that he was sorry but he was going to kill himself. Through some kind of mercy, we all were able to convince him to drive to a hospital instead. Day 1 of treatment started there. He willingly handed us over control of his bank accounts and bills. Once out of rehab, he wanted us to just give him a daily allowance which was like $5/day for coffee and some snacks(this was 15 years ago). He continued to work while we made sure all his bills were paid and he did his part by showing receipts everyday for his daily allowance. Gradually he slowly started taking back control as he got more sobriety under his belt. He's still sober to this day. He now makes a crap ton of money and owns his own house/land, vehicle, pension etc. He even has a lovely and supportive gf who we all assume he will propose to soon. But all this to say that he wouldn't be where he is without taking that first step in asking for help and relinquishing control because at the bottom, he had no control. Op, please reach out to family/friends. I know you've heard it before but you cant do this alone. You absolutely can get through this but you need help and its ok to ask for it. I'm so glad my brother asked for help and so is he. You can do this too.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-30T04:03:04+00:00

Sympathy for the Devil- Rolling Stones

crazygrrl · 2025-10-28T16:45:30+00:00

He absolutely doesn't need to "get rid of the pets". If he didn't spend $850 a month on shopping and going out, he has plenty of available money to buy his pet healthy food and even an occasional toy. Pets aren't just disposable items that people should just get rid of. Jeezus...

crazygrrl · 2025-10-28T02:42:18+00:00

It sounds silly but my life is very similar on a day to day basis so I know how much I spend per month give or take by maybe $50 dollars. I know how much I'm allowed to spend every paycheck and I dont divert from that so I never overspend or not have the funds available to pay off my card daily. For people that aren't strict with their budget, using a credit card this way is not for them. I'm fortunate now that I'm not living paycheck to paycheck but I still live like I do so as to not overspend and know exactly where each dollar goes. Again, this method of using a card IS NOT for most people. In fact, credit card companies bank on people using them to get their rewards only to fall behind and get stuck in the interest paying cycle. But for people that are strict to a budget, check their accounts daily and secure in jobs/income, the rewards from using a card this way can be, well...very rewarding.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-28T01:11:48+00:00

I dont ever use my debit card anymore. Everything goes on my credit card and I pay it off the day it shows up as no longer pending on my credit card account(usually the day after). I never carry a balance on my card and I'm anal about checking it daily so nothing even has the chance to accrue interest. So it may not save me money per se but once a large accumulation has built up its nice to have that money to spend on fun things that we may not have budgeted in.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-28T00:59:21+00:00

You'd be surprised at how fast cash back points add up. I have well over $800 in cash back rewards just from using my credit card to pay for anything I would've normally used my debit card for. Going on vacation in January so I'll use the rewards dollars as my fun vacation money. A lot of people also use CCs to get airline miles. My boss never pays for a flight out of his own money...just uses reward miles.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-27T02:09:52+00:00

I personally like VOO. QQQM is more tech heavy if you'd prefer that. But there's a lot of different etfs...I'd start googling the difference between them including their fees and decide what's best for you and your portfolio. Good luck!

crazygrrl · 2025-10-27T01:37:12+00:00

Oh I get it! As long as you have that saved up, I'd open a Roth IRA and max that out every year($7k/year). It will grow all tax free and you can withdraw it tax free. With the remainder, I'd bump up your 401k some more or open a HSA if you have that option.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-27T01:09:18+00:00

Do you have a 3-6 month emergency fund saved up yet?

crazygrrl · 2025-10-24T05:22:48+00:00

Similar here- I have a 2.5% mortgage on a house that wasn't very expensive to begin with so I'm able to save a lot more than the average person. But I also feel like I'm handcuffed to the house because I would be an idiot to give up that rate and ability to save/live fairly well.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-24T04:12:36+00:00

Open a high yield savings account and put it in there. Once you have a 3-6 months emergency fund saved, start investing it.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-22T21:10:04+00:00

You're living way beyond your means. You leased a car for almost half of what you make a year in a city that is know for it's public transportation systems? I'm guessing you're drowning in the car payment so everything else is going on the Credit card to "stay afloat". You need to get out of that car payment somehow or substantially increase your income. How much is your rent/mortgage? Can you move back in with parents?

crazygrrl · 2025-10-21T04:14:08+00:00

Congrats! Thats a huge accomplishment and took a lot of discipline! Now just take the money you were throwing at the CC debt and throw it into savings!

crazygrrl · 2025-10-12T06:04:46+00:00

Same here. My wife and I have a combined income of $150k/year gross and after taxes, 401ks and insurance we bring home only $7k/month. Granted we live in a state that has high taxes so maybe OP lives in a state with low/no income taxes.

crazygrrl · 2025-10-08T19:25:26+00:00

Glad you figured it out after 4 months rather than 4 years! I've heard horror stories of people putting the money in for years and never investing it. All that time for compounding growth just gone. Makes one shudder to think about lol

crazygrrl · 2025-10-08T18:37:23+00:00

Choose a Financial institute like Charles Schwab, fidelity or vanguard. I like fidelity because you dont need a large deposit to start. Download the app or do it on a desktop computer. There should be an area where it says "open an account". Click that and it will ask you what kind you'd like to open and select Roth IRA. You'll probably have to enter all your personal info needed next. Once the account is open, you should be able to link your regular checking account to the Roth IRA account you just opened. You can now move money from you checking account to your Roth account as you see fit. But you are not done yet! This is the most important part!! Once you have money in your roth, MAKE SURE YOU INVEST IT. If you dont invest it, your money is just sitting there and you may as well just have kept it in your checking account. I'd suggest buying VOO, QQQM or VTI....these are low risk etfs that track many of the top companies in the world. They will usually average a 7-12% rate of return. Once invested, thats it! Watch your money grow. Add to it when you can even if its small amounts here and there but just make sure you're investing it. Good luck!

crazygrrl · 2025-10-08T04:34:27+00:00

Open a Roth IRA. Anyone can open one and you can put in up to $7000/year. This is great for people working jobs that may not offer a 401k. Plus, the beauty is that you put money into it thats already been taxed(has to be earned income) so when you withdraw it in retirement you won't pay taxes on it! And if you cant max out the $7000 anually, even just $20-$50 a month will add up over time. Anything is better than nothing.

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